Paint Valley Get Second Win over Huntington, 50-6 in OHSAA Playoffs First Round

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There was no Maple Leaf Trophy at stake, merely pride and a trip to a Regional Quarterfinal matchup with Harrod Allen East November 4^th.

Paint Valley bested Scioto Valley Conference rival Huntington 50-6 in the First Round of the OHSAA Playoffs. The Bearcats were making their 19^th appearance and the Huntsmen, their initial foray into the post season.

Corey Dye was very pleased with how his Bearcats played. “Their preparation this week … really proud of their effort. All phases of the game, I felt our kids really produced” said Dye. “Defensively, we played lights out… the best we’ve played all season.”

The Huntsmen hurt themselves with three turnovers on the night. “We had trouble hanging onto the football” said Ed Yates after the game. “It’s kinda hard to score when you keep turning the ball over. It’s one of the things we can’t do running our offense. We need ball control and ball security and we didn’t do either tonight.”

Huntington caught the Bearcats off guard on the first play, a halfback pass from Braylon Leach failed to connect with Matthew Jordan who got beyond the Paint Valley secondary and had some room to roam. It’s the type of play that could set the tone for the night.

Paint Valley survived the first salvo and forced a three-and-out for the Huntsmen. The Bearcats answered with a 70-plus yard drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Dom Chambers in 4^th and goal to go for the early 7-0 lead.

Huntington gave up the football on the ensuing kick-off, handing Paint Valley possession at the Huntsmen 46 yard lane. The Huntsmen defense was called upon quickly and managed to keep PV out of the endzone.

The Huntsmen were forced to work from their own 1 yard line and on the first snap had some running room, but were bitten by the turnover bug again, this time the Bearcats took over at the Huntington 14. Three plays later, Cavan Cooper hit his brother Cam near the post and Paint Valley was ahead 14-0.

Three minutes into the second quarter, Chambers scored his second TD on a 45 yard run and the Bearcats posted a 21-0 lead.

Huntington finally got on the board when Westin Taylor bounced out on the right of a wall of linemen and raced 27 yards into the endzone. The point after failed, but the green and white had pulled to within 21-6.

The Bearcats Dax Estep hit a 29 yard Field Goal for a 24-6 Paint Valley lead. Cooper and Carson Free connected from 35 yards out with nine seconds left in the half for a 31-6 lead at the break.

Not much changed in the second half as the Bearcats got a 12 yard TD run by Cooper and he hit Free on a 45 yard strike for a 43-6 lead through three quarters.

The Bearcats’ C.J. Manion would finish out the scoring with a 4 yard touchdown late and the 50-6 final.

Afterwards, Dye felt his team was beginning to peak at the right time. “I feel like we’re playing our best football right now. If our special teams can do what they did tonight and if our offense can keep making plays like they are, our offensive line, our defense… you wanna talk improvement from the start of the year to the end of the year, the difference is night and day,”

Paint Valley (7-4) heads to Harrod, Ohio just east of Lima to face Allen East this Friday. The Mustangs are 10-1 after beating Lucasville Valley 45-0 in the First Round.

For Huntington (5-6), it was about experiencing the playoffs for the first time in the 50-year history of its football program. Yates reiterated to his seniors his pride in the commitment they displayed all season. “Whenever you lose, it hurts if you’re truly committed. And that’s why a lot of people don’t want to commit to something because when it’s taken away, it hurts … it hurts bad.” Yates told his team that’s the kind of hurt he doesn’t want to take away. “You want that because that’s what makes you work harder and get back in the weight room.”

Paint Valley tallied 466 yards on offense while limiting Huntington to just 107. Cooper completed 9 of 14 passes for 141 yards and three touchdowns and a rushing TD. Free reeled in six receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns and Cam Cooper had the 9 yard TD reception. Braylon Robertson rushed for 145 yards and Chambers added 126 more plus two scores.  

Tickets for the Paint Valley-Allen East game are available on line here: https://www.ohsaa.org/tickets